“It is a great day for the Smith family; it is a great feeling, and I am really proud of G.G., not only as his mentor and father, but also as his former college coach, watching him grow and mature into the person he is today. He was part of some of the six or seven winningest years of my coaching career, so he has the pedigree of being around winning programs. He has also benefitted being with Jimmy Patsos and helping restore that program to greatness at Loyola.

“His mom, and I… you are talking about one proud mother and father. He is a credit to our profession. He has always done things the right way, growing up as a youngster, as a player, as an assistant coach, and I believe he will be as a head coach. He is a remarkable, hard-working person. G.G. was mature beyond his age as a kid, and he has a beautiful family now with Lorie and Jayne.

“Anything I can do to help him and the Loyola program, I am happy to do it. We will be in constant contact, as we always are.

“There are a lot of proud family members in the Maryland area because that is where G.G. was born (Leonardtown, Md.). I think it was destiny that he became a head coach in that state.”